Smart devices are devices that are digital, active, and computer networked. The smart devices are also user configurable and can operate to some extent autonomously. Appliances are devices that are task specific and under control of some embedded system or application specific operating system. One distinctive difference between the smart devices and the appliances may lie in the ability of the smart devices in supporting multiple tasks, whereas the appliances may be configured to perform a single task.
Some of the examples of the smart devices may include a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a smart TV, a mobile phone, a laptop computer, etc. Some of the examples of the appliances may include a home appliance, which further include major appliances (e.g., an air-conditioner, a dishwasher, a clothes dryer, a freezer, a kitchen stove, a water heater, a washing machine, a trash compactor, a microwave oven, etc.) as well as small appliances (e.g., a CD/DVD player, camcorder, a camera, a clock, a telephone, etc.). Recently, the smart devices and the appliances are being connected through a network as an effort for automating home or office.